Ornamental
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Cordelia discovers some old ornaments she and Cedric made when they were children, as well as ones created for Calista when she was younger. Now, Calista wants to create new ones to commemorate the holiday season.


Ornamental

Summary: Cordelia discovers some old ornaments she and Cedric made when they were children, as well as ones created for Calista when she was younger. Now, Calista wants to create new ones to commemorate the holiday season.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I don't know about you all, but when my sister and I were little, we used to make ornaments all the time…mostly those little things that have our fingerprints in them or dried "cookies" made from Playdoh. Lol. So I figured it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for Cedric and Cordelia to have some as well. Have fun!

*Story*

"Oh, look at these, darling," Cordelia cooed one evening as she sat on her daughter's bed and set aside a lid, reaching into a magenta box and pulling out several ornaments.

Calista's eyes widened as she observed the numerous different-colored objects. "Wow, Mummy, are these all yours?"

"Yes. Well, some are your uncle's as well." She placed all of them out on the comforter so they could both observe them better. "This one is one I made as a child." She placed her hand over a pink ornament with golden glitter scattered about. "I must have been…six, maybe? I'm not quite sure." She grinned. "I was just getting into my fancy phase, as Mum called it. Oh, and this one." She picked up a deep purple and blue ornament with a brown wand painted in the middle. "This was Cedric's from when he was a little bitty thing. It was the first one he was allowed to paint on his own."

"Wow," Calista breathed in awe, taking in all the ornaments. "Ooh, what's that one?" She pointed toward a red ball with purple swirls and a _C_ etched into the middle.

"That's yours from when you were a baby," Cordelia said. "I made it myself one evening after you had finally gotten to sleep."

Calista smiled as she ran her hands over each one. "Can I make one of my own now that I'm older?"

"I don't see why not…"

"And can we put these on the Wassailia tree?" She folded her hands into a pleading motion as it appeared her mother was about to deny her. "Please, Mummy? I'm certain King Roland won't mind… Or we could at least _ask_ him. After all, for whatever amount of time, this is our home now too…" She pouted, her bottom lip trembling.

Cordelia sighed, brushing one hand through her long brown hair. "Oh, very well. We might as well ask him. As far as making your ornament, I don't know where we'd acquire the materials."

Calista grinned. "I do! I'll be back later." She hurried out of her room as Cordelia shook her head in amusement and started boxing up the ornaments again. The little girl searched all levels of the castle, finally finding who she was seeking. "Oh, Baileywick!"

The steward turned and smiled pleasantly toward the little sorceress. She'd grown on him the months she and her mother had been living there, and he found her as charming as he did Sofia. "Good evening, Miss Calista. May I help you?"

"Would you happen to know where I might retrieve some materials for making ornaments, please? My mummy said we could do so, but she realized pretty quickly that we were…material-less." She giggled as he chuckled.

"I may have something for you. Follow me." He actually led her to a less familiar part of the castle and paused when he reached a door. "I think I have some things in my room here. Just a moment." He walked inside and shut the door behind him, leaving Calista outside.

"His room?" she asked curiously, her head tilting. "Does _everyone_ actually live here?" She snapped her fingers as a look of realization appeared on her face. "Oh, _that's_ why no one ever leaves. Maybe I'll have to live at my job too when I'm older." She giggled.

A few minutes later, Baileywick emerged with a huge box of several types of crafting materials. He smiled and nodded ahead of him toward a small table, walking over and setting the box down as Calista climbed into a chair to look inside. "Here you'll find lots of things you can use. Paints, Papier Mache, rubber cement, and all types of things."

"Oh, how lovely!" She beamed at him. "Thank you so very much, Baileywick."

"You're very welcome, Miss Calista. Would you like me to carry this back to your room for you?"

"Oh, yes, please. I would appreciate it." She climbed down from the chair and walked back with him toward her room, which she entered only to find her mother already gone. She frowned curiously before shrugging and gesturing toward the bed. "You can just leave it here, thanks."

"All right." He placed the box onto her bed before smiling calmly toward her as she climbed onto the bed beside the box. "You can keep it, if you'd like. I've really got no use for it now."

Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes. It's better that it's getting use from someone who appreciates it anyway." He glanced at his pocket watch as she smiled appreciatively. "It's getting rather late, so I'm going to bid you good night for now. We'll be having goldenberry pancakes in the morning."

"Yum! Thanks again, Baileywick." She giggled as he nodded and left, pulling her door shut behind him. "Hmm, what have we here?" She began rummaging around in the box.

The next morning, Cordelia knocked on Calista's door and waited a few moments. "Calista, dear, it's your mum. May I come in?" She frowned when she heard nothing. Typically, the little girl would have been up for a while at this point. "Oh, I do hope she isn't sick…" She twisted the knob and opened the door, walking inside. She then smiled fondly at the sight.

Calista was passed out in the middle of her bed, her breathing steady and her hands up near her head. She had little splotches of paint on her wrist and cheek, and the materials from Baileywick were scattered all over her comforter.

"Oh, Calista." Cordelia walked over and cleaned up the materials, placing them back in the box, before noticing what her little girl had managed to do.

She'd made an ornament for everyone it seemed: the two of them, Cedric, Sofia, Amber, James, Roland, Miranda, Baileywick, and even others like Chef André, Violet, and several other workers. Obviously, she'd wanted to involve as many people as she could…

Calista stirred and sat up, yawning and stretching. She blinked lazily toward her mother, who was observing her work. She smiled tiredly. "Do you like them, Mummy?"

Cordelia laughed and hugged the child to her, kissing the crown of her head. "They're lovely, Calista. You've done a wonderful job, and everyone is going to like them so much. Oh, and I spoke with King Roland last night…" She winked. "He said you may decorate the tree with as many ornaments as you wish."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" She clasped her hands together in excitement. "The tree is going to really shine with so many decorations! This is going to be a great Wassailia, Mummy!"

"It already is, Calista."

That afternoon, several people had to do a double take at the newly-decorated Wassailia tree. The game of the day became finding their own ornament on the tree…and thanks to Calista, every single person in the castle had one. Because no one should be left out on Wassailia, and because of one persistent little sorceress, no one was.

The end


End file.
